Run Rabbit Run Will Pay 100 Mile Winners $100,000 Each in 2027 and 2028

Trail running just got a whole lot richer — and one race in Colorado is about to rewrite the record books in a way nobody saw coming.

Run Rabbit Run, the iconic 100-mile ultramarathon held annually in Steamboat Springs, has announced it will award $100,000 to each of its 100-mile champions in 2027 and 2028 — the largest winner’s prize ever offered in the history of trail running.

To put that number in perspective, the winner of UTMB — arguably the most prestigious ultramarathon on the planet — takes home just 20,000 euros, roughly $22,900.

That means a remote 100-mile race winding through the mountains of northwest Colorado will soon be paying its champion more than four times what the UTMB winner earns. Here’s everything you need to know.

The Announcement That Stunned Steamboat Springs

Race founder Fred Abramowitz and Bert Bean, chief executive of staffing powerhouse Insight Global, dropped the news at this week’s pre-race briefing in Steamboat Springs — and it landed like a bombshell.

Bryon Powell of iRunFar, who was present at the briefing, first reported the announcement to the wider running community.

Bean isn’t just a corporate backer writing checks from a boardroom. He has deep personal ties to the event — he was on the start line of the 100-miler himself last year. Insight Global is already one of the race’s primary sponsors, and the new commitment locks in the prize structure across two full editions.

Nothing has been announced yet about what happens beyond 2028, leaving the sport to wonder whether this could become a permanent fixture — or a two-year statement.

How the Numbers Stack Up Against the Rest of the Sport

Trail running prize money has been climbing fast, but Run Rabbit Run is now operating in a completely different stratosphere.

For context, consider where the sport currently stands:

• UTMB champions collect 20,000 euros (~$22,900) — and that’s after the race doubled its purse for championship events.
• Broken Arrow Skyrace boasts the largest total purse in American trail running this year at $150,000 spread across a full race weekend, with $30,000 going to each winner of its headline 23K.
• The closest off-road precedent was an $80,000 payout from Tough Mudder at its Infinity AlUla event in Saudi Arabia in 2024 — and that was obstacle racing, not a traditional trail event.
• Boston Marathon winner John Korir took home $150,000 in April, plus a $50,000 course-record bonus — but road marathons and trail ultras exist in entirely different commercial worlds.

Run Rabbit Run’s current prize structure already leads all American 100-milers, with a $100,000 pool spread across seven places per gender, plus bonuses for masters runners, senior athletes, team competition, and a premium for the first man and woman over the gondola climb.

From 2027, that entire value collapses onto a single line. One runner. One hundred thousand dollars.

There Is a Catch — And It’s a Big One

Not every runner crossing the finish line will be eligible for that life-changing check.

Only Hares can compete for the prize money. The Hare field departs at 1 p.m., operates under a 30-hour time limit, covers the full 100 miles and 20,391 feet of climbing, and — critically — does it without a pacer.

The Tortoise field, by contrast, gets a four-hour head start, a more generous 36-hour cutoff, and access to pacers at designated points along the course. They race for the finish line and nothing else.

There’s another condition buried in the fine print. At least 25 starters of each gender must toe the Hare start line for all seven prize places to pay out. Field depth isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s baked into the payout structure itself.

Can Big Money Actually Change the Field?

This is the question the sport has been debating for years — and Run Rabbit Run’s own history makes it complicated.

Powell noted pointedly that the race has been offering significant prize money since 2012 and still hasn’t managed to attract fields comparable to Western States — a race that pays its winners absolutely nothing.

Western States champions receive their name on the Wendell Robie Cup, a bronze cougar, and the same silver buckle awarded to every finisher who breaks 24 hours. Yet the race consistently draws the deepest, most competitive fields in ultramarathon running.

Broken Arrow’s co-director Brendan Madigan expressed similar optimism when his race unveiled its Nike ACG-backed prize increase — a 76.5 percent jump over the previous year’s purse.

We think the increase in prize money will draw an even deeper international field than we’ve already had.

Whether $100,000 accomplishes what $20,000 couldn’t remains the sport’s most fascinating open question heading into 2027.

What’s Happening at This Year’s Race

While the ultrarunning world processes the magnitude of what’s coming, the 14th edition of Run Rabbit Run is already underway — and the drama on course is very much alive.

Jesse Rich is back to defend his men’s title, which he claimed last year in a time of 17:42:56. iRunFar’s race preview confirmed that Jon Harrison, JP Giblin, and Ryan Sullivan — the three men who finished directly behind Rich in 2024 — are all back on the start list, setting up a potential rematch for the ages.

On the women’s side, the title is guaranteed to find a new owner. None of the former champions are entered this year, leaving the door wide open for a first-time winner to claim the $20,000 top prize.

That $20,000, it’s worth remembering, was only recently increased from $15,000 — and was celebrated as the largest payout in race history when it happened. Now it’s the warmup act for something far bigger.

The $100,000 era arrives in 2027. The countdown has already started.